Wilmot Redd
Wilmot Redd (nee [[Darcy family|'Darcy']]; early 17th century-22 September 1692) was a blood witch, descendant of the Heartbane family, and cousin of Volturnus Darcy. She was one of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials. She was executed by hanging. Biography Wilmot was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts into the Darcy family. Her husband was Samuel Redd, a fisherman. Local fishermen knew her as "Mammy". She was known for her irritability, but she was given little serious attention and, to her neighbors, was "probably more bitch than witch." Wilmot's house once stood next to Old Burial Hill, on the southeast corner of Redd's Pond, which bears her name today. She was illiterate, moody, and always looking for work. She was known to bake loaves of bread for pennies, but was an extremely independent character at heart. Her abrasive manner caused one neighbor to bring her before a magistrate for misdemeanors, and she had been earlier accused of witchcraft in 1687. By the time she was in her seventies, her quarrels with a neighbor and disputes involving her butter business had inspired rumors that she was a witch. Furthering this belief was the fact that her daughter had been married to the Reverend George Burroughs, who had been identified as the "ringleader" of the witches. Redd was apprehended on 28 May 1692 by local constable James Smith. The warrant was signed by magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne. The charge brought against her was one of having "committed sundry acts of witchcraft on bodys of Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis and others in Salem village to their great hurt." A preliminary examination took place on 31 May, at Nathan Ingersoll's house in Salem. This was Redd's first meeting with the children she allegedly bewitched. They promptly fell into fits, and when asked when she thought what ailed them, Redd said, "I cannot tell." Urged to give an opinion, she stated, "My opinion is that they are in sad condition." Indicted as a witch, Redd was accused of "detestable acts of witchcraft and sorceries wickedly, maliciously and felloniously used, practiced and exercised at at the Towne of Salem." Four months later, she was tried in Salem without the benefit of a defense counsel. Testifying against her were Marblehead residents Ambrose Gale, Charity Pitman and Sarah Doddy, who claimed that Wilmot had cursed a Mrs. Syms with an enduring case of constipation. On 17 September, Wilmot was found guilty and condemned to hang. Four days later, she and seven others were executed. She was the only Marblehead resident to be executed. Her husband never retrieved her body after her execution, and she was buried in a common grave whose location is now unknown. Memorial markers for her exist at Old Burial Hill in Marblehead and the Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem. Wilmot's execution at the hands of fanatical Typicals would incite Atypical beliefs in her cousin Volturnus Darcy, who would go on to be one of the founders of Ipswich Academy. He would later insist on refusing Scant students into the school, only to be overruled. Category:17th century deaths Category:Salem Witch Trials Category:Executed for witchcraft Category:Darcy family